An unflinching account of the Tulsa Race Massacre seen through the eyes of a young Black girl.
On Memorial Day 1921, 12-year-old Lena watches a gathering of clouds that portends a storm unlike any ever seen in Greenwood.
In this moving story told from Lena’s perspective, readers learn about the African American community of Greenwood, Oklahoma, or Black Wall Street as it came to be known. Lena lives in Greenwood with her mother, father, and 16-year-old sister, Cora. Her father often reminds her that “we have everything we need in Greenwood.” They have shops aplenty, libraries, schools, parks, and, most importantly, a sense of community. One day, Lena’s family hears whispers about Dick Rowland, a local Black man who was accused of assaulting a White woman. As racial tensions heighten, the residents of Greenwood fear White retribution for the alleged assault. The book moves quickly through the hours leading up to the massacre of over 300 Black people at the hands of White mobs and ends with Lena’s family and her community trying to piece together what little remains of their lives. This well-plotted fictionalized account of the Tulsa Race Massacre geared at young readers is emotionally challenging but necessary. Smith’s narrative deftly captures a child’s emotional and psychological experience of the tragedy as well as the tenderness shared among Lena and her family members. Jenai’s black-and-white digital illustrations, which appear every few pages, depict only Black characters and help readers imagine the historical setting. The thoughtful, informative backmatter will help adults lead discussions with children.
An unflinching account of the Tulsa Race Massacre seen through the eyes of a young Black girl. (author's note, discussion questions, glossary) (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66632-944-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Stone Arch Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is...
A flight from New York to Oakland, Calif., to spend the summer of 1968 with the mother who abandoned Delphine and her two sisters was the easy part.
Once there, the negative things their grandmother had said about their mother, Cecile, seem true: She is uninterested in her daughters and secretive about her work and the mysterious men in black berets who visit. The sisters are sent off to a Black Panther day camp, where Delphine finds herself skeptical of the worldview of the militants while making the best of their situation. Delphine is the pitch-perfect older sister, wise beyond her years, an expert at handling her siblings: “Just like I know how to lift my sisters up, I also knew how to needle them just right.” Each girl has a distinct response to her motherless state, and Williams-Garcia provides details that make each characterization crystal clear.
The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-076088-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A powerfully candid and soulful account of an immigrant experience.
A Taiwanese family tries their luck in America.
In this verse novel, it’s 1980, and nearly 11-year-old Ai Shi and her mother prepare to leave Taipei to join her father in California, where he is pursuing a business opportunity with a friend. The extended family send them off, telling Ai Shi she’s so lucky to go to the “beautiful country”—the literal translation of the Chinese name for the U.S. Once they are reunited with Ba, he reveals that they have instead poured their savings into a restaurant in the remote Los Angeles County town of Duarte. Ma and Ba need to learn to cook American food, but at least, despite a betrayal by Ba’s friend, they have their own business. However, the American dream loses its shine as language barriers, isolation, financial stress, and racism take their toll. Ai Shi internalizes her parents’ disappointment in their new country by staying silent about bullying at school and her own unmet needs. Her letters home to her favorite cousin, Mei, maintain that all is well. After a year of enduring unrelenting challenges, including vandalism by local teens, the family reaches its breaking point. Hope belatedly arrives in the form of community allies and a change of luck. Kuo deftly touches on complex issues, such as the human cost of the history between China and Taiwan as well as the socio-economic prejudices and identity issues within Asian American communities.
A powerfully candid and soulful account of an immigrant experience. (Verse historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: June 28, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-311898-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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